On July 20, Delhi High Court will hear petitions against the "Agnipath" Scheme.

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• Jul 12, 2022 | Sourav Boruah

Digital
Desk: The Delhi High Court announced on Tuesday that it would hear a number of
appeals against the Agnipath Scheme of the Centre on July 20.

The
Agnipath programme, which was unveiled on June 14, calls for the enlistment of
young people between the ages of 17 and 21 for only four years, with the option
of keeping 25% of them for an additional 15 years. Against the plan, protests
have started in a number of states.

Later,
the government raised the maximum age to 23 for enrollment in 2022. The Indian
Navy reserved the right to shortlist candidates by increasing the cut-off marks
they received in class 12th examinations, contrary to the already laid down
eligibility criteria in the advertisement, after their applications were
received for recruitment as Person Below Officer Rank (PBOR) in the force. The
high court was hearing an application filed in a pending petition on Tuesday.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta
informed a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium
Prasad that similar cases challenging the Agnipath scheme were already pending
before the high court and should be heard collectively. The bench ordered that
all such petitions be listed collectively on July 20.